Youre tired of hearing about Hobby Lobby and the Supreme Court, tired of all the talk of fines and health-care plans and reproductive rights, tired of being bombarded with words spoken in anger from both sides of the aisle. You want to put your fingers in your ears, switch the channel, and wait for the ruling and the rest of it to just go away.

But even though you are tired, even though youve grown weary of having the same discussions about the same points, Hobby Lobby and fines and health-care plans still matter. They matter because your country  the United States of America  was founded on the principle that you were born with certain rights: the rights to seek and follow truth, to live according to your beliefs, to worship freely.

And no one, not even the government, gets to tell you how to do that.

Today, our federal government threatens that right, consistently refusing to protect religious liberty as our Constitution and the laws of nature demand. In the dozens of cases against the Health and Human Services contraceptive mandate, the government has started dictating the boundaries of religious beliefs, and to pick and choose which beliefs  and which individuals  deserve religious liberty protection.

The contraceptive mandate, part of the Affordable Care Act, requires employers to provide a full range of 20 FDA-approved contraceptive devices, drugs and services in their health-care plans. These include emergency contraceptives with the ability to prevent implantation of an embryo  in other words, the ability to end a human life. Catholics, Lutherans, and many other Americans find these drugs morally reprehensible. Yet, though objections to the mandate are strong and numerous  with over 90 lawsuits filed so far  the government has simply swept them aside.

The mandates provisions allow for very narrow exemptions for houses of worship. Exemptions do not extend even to affiliates of those houses of worship; for example, a Catholic order of nuns, operating homes for the elderly poor, is not exempt. Nor are Christian colleges, nor are thousands of other religious non-profit organizations, which serve the public good.

In the case of the non-profits, the government has come up with an empty accommodation that would force organizations to sign HHS forms directing third-party administrators to provide the drugs that the organizations cannot. As one plaintiff, the Little Sisters of the Poor, explained, these forms are nothing more than permission slips. The Little Sisters cannot direct someone else to act immorally, just as they cannot act immorally themselves. The government has branded this particular belief meaningless.

Neither the exemption nor the false accommodation extends to individuals who run their own businesses, like David and Barbara Green, owners of Hobby Lobby. The Greens morally oppose providing drugs that can prevent implantation and have filed suit against HHS, represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. In the Greens case, the government claims that moral convictions must be abandoned at the door of the workplace. The Greens may not run their own companies according to their consciences. Or, in return for staying true to their convictions, they will be forced to pay crushing fines.

The governments distinctions under the mandate dont make sense. The government does not get to reduce God and the way in which He works down to what happens only in church or worship. By its definition, religious liberty stipulates that a church  not the government  must be permitted to form its own definition and its own boundaries.

Moreoever, God uses each of us in our vocations to serve those around us. This call to serve others and live according to our beliefs extends beyond our houses of worship, into our homes, our communities, and our work. To prevent individuals from following the dictates of their consciences is an abuse of power and a gross infringement on human dignity.

As the leader of a Christian church body, I strongly object to the governments approach of picking and choosing whose beliefs merit consideration. Now, according to the government, Catholic nuns must authorize others to give out free contraceptives, and evangelical Christians must abandon their most deeply held convictions in the operations of their own businesses. What group, and what belief, will next be under attack?

Friends, we may be weary. We may be tired. But we must stand together to protect our God-given right to religious liberty. This mandate threatens not only those whose religions specifically compel them to oppose it, but all Americans. We cannot allow our government to define the content of our beliefs or the degree of their significance.

The Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison is the current and 13th president of The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod.

“It is NOT a government, for that would imply laws and adherence to said laws.
What we have is a regime, presided over by a petty tyrant. There is no law, except what he deems, nor is there any adherence, when it is unsuitable.

This is no longer the United States for we are divided as no time since The War of Yankee Aggression. This is Acirema, where criminals are rewarded and honest people are punished. “

I wish I could “like” this, as on some of the other forums I visit and post on.

Well we have a long road ahead. We won’t even receive the “verdict” until May or the day that the Supreme Court concludes the year. Expect numerous stories from all sides and their “guesses” on what the verdict will be.

9
posted on 03/26/2014 4:33:42 AM PDT
by napscoordinator
( Santorum-Bachmann 2016 for the future of the country!)

Let’s see, the majority of the US population, about 80%, consider themselves Christian or Christian leanings. Yet, the majority of these “CHRISTIANS” voted for this OBAMA administration. Oh, they were warned, if thy voted for this LIAR IN CHIEF they would live to regret it. But they did it any way. Now, these same “SAVIORS” that they voted for are turning around and biting them in the rear end. And now, they are complaining?

Yes, you can be. Just like I can be an American and opposed to the progressive direction which the country is headed, I can be a Catholic and a Democrat and not support the progressive national party platform.

the rights to seek and follow truth, to live according to your beliefs, to worship freely...Where did that come from? I thought it was the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of property (money, food, housing and clothes)?

What makes me “tired” of this is the ruling we will get from the “Supreme” court ... some watered down thing that kills freedom of religion without saying it (like Obamacare being a tax). I’m “tired” of the “Supreme” court which I always thought was our one final barrier to progressivism ... now it too has been infected. If this ruling comes back as I suspect, then (for me) it is “over.”

18
posted on 03/26/2014 6:14:48 AM PDT
by ThePatriotsFlag
("There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide." - Thomas Jefferson)

How presumptuous of them, whoever they are, to make such a personal statement to their readers.

He isn't speaking in a void. Many of his audience are tired of Hobby Lobby et al. Tired that we have had to waste time and treasure diverting attention away from what we should be doing, to fight the gov't in court over something in the 1st Amendment. Tired of fighting the same gov't we pay taxes to over pro-life issues. Doesn't mean we'll stop, just tired of this crap.

Okay... I'll put him right next to the guy who put a sign up on the marquee that said "God wants to kill you."

Hey, I actually preached a sermon once with that exact title, "God Wants to Kill You." It caught people's attention, and then I explained in what sense that is true.

And so, if you read at all beyond the title of this article, you quickly understand where LCMS President Harrison is going with this. And then Harrison sums it up like this at the end: "Friends, we may be weary. We may be tired. But we must stand together to protect our God-given right to religious liberty."

There should never have been anything in “insurance” regarding sex at all for all these years, unless it actually is a necessity for health/medical reasons.

Abortion, birth control, men’s sexual enhancement (why is it never for women, who have more trouble anyway?) - NONE of these is a medical issue.

All of them are for convenience and have nothing to do with maintaining the life of the subject.

Yet, guess what I could get tax-free? Both off the shelf, and prescription? You guessed it - I can get sex stuff without penalty. No co-pay on BC pills. Simple condoms with no tax! Meanwhile, my chronic necessities - colon and reflux troubles, embolism - I have to pay for these including tax! Unbelievable! (Yes, I have stated my displeasure and shock anytime that happened.)

What is it about the Democrat Party that makes you want to be part of it?

Is it gun control? Socialism? Abortion? Sodomy?

You wouldn’t get my vote ... I DON’T VOTE FOR THE PARTY OF DEAD BABIES. You have chosen to associate yourself with perverts, baby-killers, thieves, and tyrants. Either you’re one of them, or you have really bad judgment.

What is it about the Democrat Party that makes you want to be part of it?

Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Jackson, Cleveland, to name five examples.

Is it gun control? Socialism? Abortion? Sodomy?

So, logically, all Republicans are for crony capitalism, both through "bailouts" and "stimulus", new entitlement programs, increased spending and debt, and amnesty? Because that's what we've gotten from the Bush administration and Boehner House.

You wouldnt get my vote

Did you vote for McCain or Romney? If so, you'll vote for "moderates" who are just socialist-light and who vote for unconstitutional acts and powers, but you'll not support someone who is a staunch defender of the Constitution simply because of a letter after their name?

"They're doing it, too!!!" is a rather childish defense. Look at YOUR democrat national party platform. It's on the internet, so you can't BS me about what's in it. That's what you're signing up to support when you call yourself a democrat. You're aligning yourself with Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Barack 0bama. You're willfully becoming part of the Death Party ... and you have the temerity to call yourself a Christian.

but you'll not support someone who is a staunch defender of the Constitution simply because of a letter after their name?

No, I'll not support someone who gives any sort of credibility to the socialist, nanny-state tyrant, homosexual, abortionist, gun-thieving democrat party. It's not just a letter after the name. Assuming you get elected ... who do you support for Speaker of the House?

You asked a question. I answered it, plainly and clearly. Your disdain for My answer does not make My answer any less valid.

"They're doing it, too!!!" is a rather childish defense. Look at YOUR democrat national party platform.

I didn't say, "You are doing it too." I drew a logical parallel between your attempt to stain Me for being a member of the Democratic Party, by claiming that I must support all the activities of that party, with your support for Republicans, which according to your logic, you must support all their anti-constitutional actions. You cannot have it both ways. If I am guilty of the Democratic sins, then you are guilty of the Republican ones.

No, I'll not support someone who gives any sort of credibility to the socialist, nanny-state tyrant, homosexual, abortionist, gun-thieving democrat party. It's not just a letter after the name. Assuming you get elected ... who do you support for Speaker of the House?

I appreciate you giving Me the respect to say that My candidacy as a Jeffersonian Anti-Federalist gives credibility to the Democratic Party. I am fighting to save her soul. I have answered that question publicly and am happy to answer again. I would not support Nancy Pelosi for Speaker. She had her chance and we've all seen what happened. As to who I would vote for for Speaker, Collin Peterson springs to mind.

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